30. September 2025
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Places & Sights

Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station (London)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station

23 GBP
Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Iconic transformation of power plant
  • Nice views of the area
  • Beautiful shopping mall

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Slightly remote location
  • Staff not too motivated / friendly

Transforming former industrial heritage to a unique and vibrant location of the city – one of the most impressing changes of that kind I know is definitely the one of Battersea Power Station. The former two coal engine power plants with the unique architecture started their service in 1935 and 1955. They seized operation in 1975 and 1983, respectively. After years of discussions around how to use the building or its grounds, it has finally been changed into a living space and a posh shopping mall, opening in 2022. It’s most iconic feature, though, is located in one of the former chimneys. You can take an elevator up there and by that be on one of the most unique observation decks of the world. Here is my review of Lift 109 in London.

 

Battersea Power Station – Location & Admission

Batersea Powe Station is located right South of the River Thames. Lift 109 is located in the Northwest chimney of the former power plant. You reach the shopping mall the easiest by taking certain Northern Line trains to Battersea Power Station. The Underground Station is located South of the former plant. Alternatively, there are also London River Bus / ferry services (RB1, RB2, RB6), which stop at Battersea Power Station Pier right North of the entrance. The entrance to Lift 109 is at one corner of the upper level of the mall. The tickets are bound to time slots. However, at that time you typically first enter another waiting line, before the in-fact visit begins.

Lift 109 is opening daily. From Sunday to Wednesday, opening times are 10:00 to 18:00. The other days, Lift 109 closes at 20:00. Adult admission at the venue is 23 GBP. If you pre-book online early, you can reduce that to 16 GBP. There are – obviously – multiple packages, including a proposal package or a private ride. A very interesting option is the Early Riser (19 GBP). The first ride of the day at 10:00 takes 20 minutes at the top, in contrast to the significantly shorter experiences later.

 

Battersea Power Station – The Mall

Before taking you to the in fact ride and view, here are some impressions of the mall and surrounding. The Battersea Power Station shopping mall feels very posh and also has a few really unique stores. There is also a hotel and several restaurants, from rather basic to posh options. A really nice place to hang out, at least on a sunny day, is the small park at the waterfront. There are a quite some options to enjoy a drink or a snack and enjoy yourself, including some sun loungers, which were very popular during our visit.

 

Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station – The Visit

From beginning of our time slot, our visit at Lift 109 took us some 50 minutes. You can roughly split it into separate, some ten minute sections. The first two ones were, as already stated, unfortunately being in an additional waiting line. Then you were guided to some partially interactive exhibits still inside the normal area of the shopping mall. You learn about the history of the power station, but also how this is operated. One of the interactive screens is aiming to illustrate you the complexity of in fact providing energy for London from a place like that. After the (not too surprising) option to take a souvenir picture, you are guided to the next room, where there is an audiovisual show which is quite entertaining, but also some lengthens your visit.

Then you are heading towards the in-fact observation platform. After a short elevator ride, you have to walk steps up to the in fact elevator. I was quite angry about that as there would be another elevator if you have mobility issues (this also means Lift 109 is accessible, but they don’t offer that option pro-actively. Some elder people in our group were offered it, while I had to walk not that convenient stairs which are already within the chimney. The ride up is rather quick. The cabin is majorly made of glass. As the elevator is lifted above the top edge of the chimney, you have a quite nice view of London. The capsule also offers some benches to sit on (not sufficient for all riders, obviously). There are also signs which show you the main sights and attraction you can explore from above. A party of riders consists of up to 20 people. During most of the times, this capacity is likely reached. After your time at the top, you head a similar route back down.

 

Views from Lift 109

The name Lift 109 comes from the fact that this final elevator takes you to a height of 109 meters. Battersea Power Station is a bit on the West side of the key London attractions. As you might spot on the pictures below, you do see attractions like Big Ben or the London Eye. There are, however, numerous buildings and a certain distance in between the two locations (roughly 2.8 km). The area around is quite nice, though. Under certain wind conditions, you can also watch planes descending towards London-Heathrow Airport (LHR).

 

Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station – Services

After your ride, your way out of course also makes you pass the Lift 109 Souvenir Store. In fact, they have some quite nice items, but also a lot of kitsch. One thing I liked, though, were items related to the popular culture impact of Battersea Power Station. For example, you can buy the album Animals by Pink Floyd there. It shows Battersea Power Station on its cover.

 

Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station – My View

I was a bit of skeptical about visiting Lift 109 beforehand. The observation deck has become very popular and hyped on social media recently. I love the transformation of the whole place and especially the idea to use a former industrial chimney to host an observation deck elevator. The atmosphere in the capsule is comparably relaxed and the time upstairs sufficient. The view is nice, but you should be aware of its location and the limited view of the core city center of London. Including the additional waiting lines and all the additional “infotainment” before the in-fact ride, the visit felt a bit too long to me, though. Additionally, I have to say that the staff throughout the visit did not feel overwhelmingly helpful and motivated. Nonetheless, Lift 109 at Battersea Power Station is definitely an iconic and nice experience.

 

Flyctory.com Views from Above

Here are all postings tagged as Views from Above, dealing with any kind up-in-the-air viewpoints:

 

London 2025

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